Dating With Celebrity Status
by sgs09
Summary: Sam and Dean are grocery shopping in L.A. when they spot the tabloid with a picture of Reid and actress Lila Archer. Phone calls ensue. #3 in The Informant 'verse.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Sam and Dean are grocery shopping for a few needed items in L.A., and they spot the tabloid with a picture of Reid with actress Lila Archer. Phone calls ensue. (#3 in _The Informant_ 'verse.)

**Author's Note:** (Unbeta'd.) This is a tag to the CM episode 1.18 "Somebody's Watching" and the SPN episode 2.18 "Hollywood Babylon." I took a teensy bit of liberty and set the Winchesters in L.A. for the shooting of Hell Hazers II, though I'm not sure that's where they were supposed to be. I also AU it just _slightly_ by saying that Spencer is the one who sent the boys to the case, though I think in the episode it was Dean who was convinced there was something going on at the set.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing recognizable in this story from either Supernatural or Criminal Minds. (If I did own the shows, I would totally write crossover episodes. Because come on—who _doesn't_ want TV shows to do crossover episodes!) So yeah, I don't own Reid, Bobby, or the Winchesters. I guess I kinda own the cashier, but he's not all that interesting... Therefore, all I want to acknowledge owning is the idea that Sam and Dean should totally buy water guns for their holy water.

* * *

"Got the salt?" Sam asked Dean as they headed for the register at the grocery store.

Dean motioned to the basket in his hand. There were three one-pound bags lined up right next to the bottle of vodka, two super soakers, and a bottle of peroxide. "You got the clovers, and whatever else?"

Sam nodded, lifting his own basket as evidence. "What's with the water guns?"

Dean shrugged. "Just seemed more fun than wasting a flask at every go. This way, if we know ahead of time that we're dealing with demons, we just grab these guns, then point and shoot. It'll carry more than the flask. They have a larger range too. No more standing at arm's length to mess with those guys."

Sam looked amused, but impressed. "That might actually work."

"Of course it will work, Sammy," Dean chided. "Don't seem so surprised when I have a good idea."

Sam chuckled. "I just can't wait to see you pull out a plastic orange gun the next time we're up against a demon." He patted his brother on the shoulder as he passed.

Dean paused long enough to roll his eyes. Then he traced after his brother. He dumped his basket's contents on the conveyer belt along with Sam's, and reached for his wallet.

"Find everything you need today, guys?" the young cashier asked in a friendly tone. He seemed slightly curious about the odd assortment of groceries, but didn't comment.

Something caught Dean's eye, and he paused. "Hey, Sam? Check it out."

Sam looked over. "Is that who I think it is?"

Dean snagged the tabloid magazine for a closer look, holding it so they could both see the front cover. It showed a picture of Spencer Reid and some blonde chick standing together, his hand on her shoulder.

Dean smirked. "Well, well, Spencey...at least I taught you something over the years. You certainly picked a girl worthy of your attention."

"You following the scandal?" the cashier asked conversationally.

"What scandal?" Sam asked for the both of them.

The cashier motioned to the tabloid. "The Lila Archer scandal. It's been all over the news."

Dean shrugged. "Haven't watched the news in a few days. Been on a long hunting trip."

The young man nodded in understanding, too interested in telling the story to pause and ask what they were hunting. "Gotcha. Well, rumor has it, this young actress Lila was being stalked. The police got involved when some people around her started to die. A few days later, the stalker and murderer was arrested by the police. Turned out to be someone working with Lila."

"Any idea who this guy is?" Dean asked, pointing to the magazine.

"No one really knows. The kid's not from around here, so much as anyone can tell. He disappeared after this picture was taken. Hasn't been seen since. I think he was with the cops or something."

"When was the picture taken?" Sam asked.

The cashier shrugged. "Maybe three days ago."

Dean gathered up the bags. "Thanks. We're just such buffs when it comes to celebrity gossip. Right, Sam?"

* * *

"Someone's on the phone for you, Reid," Morgan called from his seat at the younger man's desk.

Reid came to take the out-held phone. "This is Dr. Spencer Reid."

Dean Winchester's voice came on the line. _"Hey, Dr. McLover-Boy. How's life with a super hot celebrity girlfriend?"_

"She's not my—I mean, it's not exactly..." He sighed, frustrated. "She—"

"_Aw, Sammy, he's stuttering. I'd say she's got him pretty good."_

Morgan grinned up at him. "Are you blushing?"

Reid rolled his eyes—at both of his friends. He turned his back to Morgan. "How did you find out anyway? I didn't tell anyone about that."

"_Ah, we're in L.A.," _Dean explained. _"We were taking care of this case on a movie set. 'Hell Hazers Two'—of all things—had a haunting. Who would've guessed?"_

"I did, actually," Reid answered. "But I wasn't positive. It turned out to be authentic?"

"_Oh yeah. By the time we got everything figured out, we had four or five different spirits to deal with."_

"Impressive. Are you guys okay?"

"_Yeah, we're fine, but—hey! Don't think you can distract me that easily. I want to know all about my future cousin-in-law."_

"No..." he groaned.

"_How'd you meet her? I heard something about a stalker."_

"I don't have time to talk right now. I'm at work."

"_Oh don't be such a kill-joy, Spencey. Would you rather I ask Bobby all about this?"_

Reid considered his options. "If you do, I'll tell him about what you did in the basement with the gift Will gave him." He felt funny referring to his father as Will, but decided he had no choice. If he said something about his father and a gun, Morgan would start asking questions.

"_You wouldn't..."_

Reid wasn't sure he would, but he couldn't let Dean know that. "It wasn't a big deal anyway. It's over, because she's there and I'm here, and I'm busy. I have a job here, and I can't just be running off to...to..."

"_To get down with a super hot actress from Hollywood?"_ Dean laughed. _"Yeah, your priorities are so messed up, workaholic."_

"Oh, _I'm_ the workaholic? Says the guy who works, what—ninety hours a week? More? You never really _stop_ working, actually. Have you ever taken a vacation in your entire life?"

"_Ah shut up. Hunting's a lifestyle, not just a job."_

Reid knew that all too well. His father had certainly considered it to be so. If William Reid had been employed in a steady and normal job, maybe he wouldn't have had to abandon them so early in Reid's life. Maybe he would have been there for Reid, growing up. But hunters got sucked into a loner's lifestyle, losing sight of seemingly everything other than the next hunt. It was one of the many reasons why Reid had decided long ago that he could never be a full-fledged hunter. He didn't want to be sucked into that life.

Not to mention, the job had terrible retirement options. No health benefits. No money for retirement. Few friends, if any. A high mortality rate.

Few hunters ever made it to retirement. A couple got injured so badly they were forced into it, but those cases were almost rare. It was more common for hunters to simply be taken down in a hunt.

Reid suddenly realized how morbid his thoughts were getting. He came back to the present moment to hear Dean ranting about something.

"_And she said she was a gymnast, but I knew—with that body?—there was no way. But she was so convincing, I just wanted to ask her if she knew how good of a liar she was. I suggested she go into acting. The other day? I saw her. A commercial for McDonalds. Can you believe it?"_

Reid frowned in confusion. "Um...yeah?"

Dean laughed. _"Well I couldn't. I mean, it's like I saw the future. Hey, maybe I have some freaky ESP thing like Sammy."_

A voice in the background called, _"Shut up, Dean."_

"I doubt it," was all that Reid had to say in reply. "The likelihood of that is...well, it's pretty much nonexistent."

Hotch walked out of his office and caught Reid's eye, motioning to the conference room. Reid nodded in understanding. "Hey, I'll have to call you back. My boss needs something."

"_Dating advice?"_ Dean guessed.

"He's married, actually. I'll talk to you later." Reid hung up on Dean's protests.

"Who was that?" Morgan asked, getting up to follow him to the conference room.

Reid tried to shrug casually. "Just an old friend. We went to school together for a while."

"Why'd he call you?"

"He saw my picture in the tabloids while he was in L.A."

Morgan laughed.

* * *

**A/N:** Sam and Bobb's phone calls to come in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** (Unbeta'd.) Here are Sam's and Bobby's phone calls to Reid.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

* * *

Reid's cell rang just as he was getting ready to leave the office that evening. He picked it up. "Dr. Spencer Reid."

"_Hey man, what's going on?"_

"Sam? Hey. I'm just finishing up at the office. What are you guys up to?"

"_Well we're between jobs after finishing that one in L.A., so Dean's heading out to a bar right now. I told him I would stay here and look for our next gig."_

"I haven't found anything lately, if that's why you called. We've been lacking lately."

"_I see..."_

Reid took a seat at his desk when Sam said nothing more. He could tell his old friend had called for a reason, but he wasn't sure what it was. He frowned when a thought occurred to him. "Did Dean put you up to this? He asked you to call because he couldn't get anything out of me earlier?"

"_What? No! I was actually kind of calling to apologize for his call earlier. I told him not to bother you about it, but you know Dean. He's stubborn."_

He couldn't argue with that.

"_Anyway, I uh...well, I was just calling to check in. Haven't talked to you in a while. Plus I had to make sure Dean didn't say way too much over the phone this morning. If you need revenge or anything, I've probably got a good story or two for you to tell Bobby."_

Reid laughed at that. "Ever the faithful little brother..."

Sam laughed too.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a long moment. Reid waved goodbye to JJ as she left for the evening. Hotch passed by, reminding him to leave soon and get some sleep. Reid nodded.

Then the team was gone for the night and Reid was alone at his desk. "Hey, Sam? Can I ask you a question?"

"_Sure. What's up?"_

"How do you know if a girl is right for you?"

"_Is this about Lila?"_

He felt self-conscious now. "Maybe."

"_You really liked her, didn't you? You want to tell me about it?"_

Reid sighed, considering it. He knew Sam would be a good sounding-board. He had helped Reid out of a lot of problems over the years. Maybe it would be good to talk.

"Well, Gideon and I were in L.A. for a conference..."

He told Sam the whole story—well, the whole story minus the pool incident.

"So now," Reid continued, "I can't really do anything, because I'm here and she's there. And I have a serious job here, but she's working there. L.A.'s across the country from Virginia, too. It's not like we'll ever get to see each other."

"_But you really liked her, right? And she liked you?"_

"Yeah. I think so..."

"_So what do you want to do?"_

"I don't know. I just...it doesn't feel logical for us to try to...I mean, not with me here and her there."

"_Well maybe that's your answer."_

"I should let her go then?"

"_Not at all, Spencer. If you ever think you've found the girl for you, you had better chase after her. You don't get many chances for something like that."_

Reid had been too afraid to mention Jess. But somehow he knew Sam was referring to her now.

"_What I'm trying to say is that, maybe for the moment, you should do nothing. She's in L.A. and you're in Virginia. Maybe that means something, maybe not. But if either of you ever ends up moving..."_

Reid considered that. "Maybe."

"_If you keep thinking about her though, or if you think she might be the one, I say go for it. Like I told you, that kind of chance doesn't come around very often."_

He swallowed. "But how will I know if she's the one? Mom's always told me that when I'm ready, the right kind of girl would come along and we would notice each other."

"_Well, do you feel ready, Spencer?"_

"I don't know," he said honestly.

"_Sometimes you've just got to decide to be ready. With Jess, I certainly didn't feel ready. But I decided that I wanted to be. So I chose to be. Then, well, it just happened."_

"But how do I know if it's the right girl?"

"_I can't really tell you that. It's something you'll have to figure out on your own."_

Reid didn't know what to say.

"_Listen, Spencer, I'm not saying you should marry the first girl who's ever shown you any attention, but—"_

"Wow," he interrupted sarcastically, "thanks for that advice."

Sam chuckled. _"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I meant I don't think you should jump at every girl who shows you a bit of attention—like Dean does—but that if you get to know a girl, and you really like her, it's okay to try to get to know her better. And if that leads to a more serious relationship, well then, as long as you're happy, go for it."_

Reid sighed to himself. "Okay. I'll think about it." He still didn't know what he would do.

"_I can't make the decision for you, Spencer. Just trust your gut. You have good instincts."_

"Okay, I'll try. Thanks for calling, Sam."

"_Anytime. Call if you want to talk more later."_

* * *

When Dean walked into the motel that night, he saw Sam sitting at the table, messing with his laptop. "How did the talk with Spencer go?" he asked with a grin. "You get anything out of him?"

Sam shrugged casually. "Not really. I told you it wouldn't work."

He wouldn't tell the truth—that Spencer had told him everything. Dean may have put him up to the phone call, but he had been planning to check in with Spencer on his own anyway. And Dean may have been his brother—the one person he hated lying to the most—but Spencer was like his brother in many ways, and in the Winchester family, brothers were to be protected. Sam knew Spencer wouldn't have taken Dean's ribbing very well if Dean knew the whole story.

His brother shook his head, almost pityingly. "Then you didn't ask the right questions. I knew I should have been here when you made the call. I could have given you prompts."

Sam rolled his eyes at that.

* * *

Reid dialed the familiar number the next morning to call Bobby. He had found a case on JJ's desk that needed some investigating.

Bobby answered with a gruff, _"Yeah."_

"I think there's a werewolf in Arizona. Problem is, the lunar cycle just ended, so it'll be a month until the next killings."

"_I'll send Dodge over. He might be able to find the trail. If not, he'll know when to go back."_

Reid gave Bobby all of the information that he had on the case, though it wasn't much.

"_Thanks, kid. Anything else?"_

"No. That was the only one today."

"_Then what's this I hear about you dating an actress?"_

Reid rolled his eyes. "Did Dean call you?"

Bobby chuckled. _"Don't worry, I took the story with a grain of salt."_

"There really isn't any story, Bobby. I just had a case where I was protecting an actress, and some paparazzi took a picture of us together. That's all."

"_Okay. Fine. I was just curious."_

"Well there's nothing to be curious about it. So you can just forget whatever Dean said."

"_Okay, kid. Cool your jets. Just had to ask."_

Reid smiled to himself. "Actually, you'd be better off asking who broke the sawed-off you used to have hanging over your front door when I was a kid."

"_What are you talking about?"_

"Dean, being thirteen and as dumb as a block of wood, decided to have a little target-practice while you and Mr. Winchester were out hunting."

"_That was the gun your father made for me,"_ Bobby said, sounding a little angry now.

"I know. Just don't ask me what Dean was shooting at—or why he was using it in your basement."

There was a muffled curse on the other end of the line. Reid smiled.

Mission accomplished.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Bobby."

"_Later, Spencer. I've got something to take care of."_

Reid hung up, and dialed Dean's number. It was already busy.

"Serves you right," he mumbled, still grinning.

**

* * *

**

Author's Note:

I don't think the conversation between Sam and Reid went quite how I wanted it to, but I wasn't sure how to fix it. Anyway, hope the fic was kinda fun for y'all. I just wanted Sam and Dean see the tabloid about Lila, so I couldn't help but write this.

I gave a hint of info about Reid's father, but some future stories will go further into detail.

Right now I'm working on two big stories for this crossover, _The Informant_ 'verse. In the works, I've almost finished a story about how Dean's deal affects Reid. (It's being edited now, and will be posted soon.) Following on its heels will be a story written of a casefic crossover for both fandoms.

The casefic will fully explain how Reid knows Bobby and the boys, and let you know what all his father has been up to over the years.

sgs09


End file.
